Penn St. Quarterbacks Train by Using Madden on PlayStation

Just this weekend I was having a discussion on football players using Madden. I said that some players use it to practice reads and learn plays. Come to find out, that is certainly the case — at least in Happy Valley. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, via Buffalo Bill Ben Maller:

The idea is to give the Penn State quarterbacks more work on their playbook, which is loaded onto a Madden football game for use in the video game machine.
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“While we’re in there, so-called wasting time, playing PlayStation, we can actually learn something,” starting quarterback Anthony Morelli said. “It will almost be like watching film. Changing plays on the fly, it’s just a fun thing that’s going to help us on the field.”
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“It’s pretty much getting to the point where it’s almost real. It’s getting scary,” he said. “They’ve got guys’ accuracy, your arm strength. They’re almost making it look exactly like you. Some guys even move like they really move. It’s crazy. It’s realistic.”

Apparently this is the work of Coach Paterno — Jay that is — Joe don’t even know what PlayStation is. He even adds that the quarterbacks will run through the first 15 scripted plays of the game on Friday using Madden to get prepared for Saturday’s game. These games are so realistic nowadays, learning to react on the game can actually help you make reads. That is crazy.